Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Leaves' Eyes
Label: Napalm Records
Released: 2009
Length: 55:57
Rating: 3.5/5
German – Norwegian symphonic gothic power metal outfit Leave’s Eyes, made up of former Theater Of Tragedy singer Liv Kristine and members of German band Atrocity, finally lands in the very top tier of the bands hauling this genre’s wagon the hardest and “tightest” with their third studio album. Fans of Epica, Within Temptation or Nightwish, your ears are probably burning.
The closest reference point for Leave’s Eyes is probably Epica. Both lean heavily on symphonic arrangements and combine clean female vocals with “cookie monster” growling. With Epica that’s pretty much the rule, but with Leave’s Eyes mixing the vocals isn’t a must. Thank goodness, because the growl of keyboardist and Liv’s husband Alexander Krull is more grotesque than scary. You can almost picture a badly congested Daffy Duck with a bite stuck in his throat, desperately trying to clear his bill and free up his airways, and his “swallowing” ones too. That partly wrecks My Destiny, track number two, a song with an excellent, melodically perfectly shaped atmospheric arena-sized hook, while Ragnarok completely loses the momentum of its built-up punch on the way to the chorus and kind of misses its mark. Of course the band’s main attraction is Liv Kristine’s voice, which settles beautifully into the bulk of the songs and their very structure. This time Leave’s Eyes can boast that they’ve managed, in the most effective way of their career, to fuse the melodic punch of power metal with the atmospheric, epic pulse of richly layered symphonic arrangements. They can also brag that “Njord” offers vividly varied takes on its lead motifs, which is hugely important for loosening up the genre mold they belong to. That brings the album the dynamic swells and shifts of mood it needs. The production balances the hard riffing approach with the other building blocks of the sound (keyboards, orchestral arrangements), and the band has found a leveling formula for the contrasting coexistence of all the elements that make up the sound. Liv Kristine’s vocals fleetingly recall Delain singer Charlotte Wessels, though there’s a noticeable difference in expression between the two bands in how they build their symphonic gothic power metal groove. Leave’s Eyes rely even more on symphonic arrangements, and they get more variety out of the individual instruments.
One of the album’s strongest choruses belongs to the balladic, melancholic Irish Rain, where Liv Kristine’s vocal is gently wrapped in a veil of symphonic folk cosmetics (whistles, strings, keyboards). With that excellent chorus we’re at one of the highlights of “Njord”. I’d single out Scarborough Fair for similar energy (with its opening flute melody) – but that wouldn’t be entirely fair, since this one’s a Simon & Garfunkel cover that art metallers Queensryche tackled way back in the days of the album “Empire” (1990). Liv Kristine is a key factor: her contrasting soprano clears every hurdle with ease and, with feather-light touch, brings the feelings in the verses to life so well that the album really “grabs you firmly by the ears” and feels genuine and convincing. The album loses a bit of steam with the aforementioned Ragnarok (thanks to the forced “growls”) and the balladic Morgenland, then boils over into a superb tragic storm in the closing stretch with The Holy Bond (where the metal punch even overpowers the symphonic elements) and especially the real mini-epic Froya’s Teme, with the album’s biggest motif variety and sparkling use of Liv Kristine’s chorus hooks, combined with shifts in mood in the verses (you can even stomach the decorative “growling”). Froya’s Theme is the right pick for a highly atmospheric closer to “Njord”.
Evidently the marriage between Alexander and Liv Kristine has, all things considered, helped cement their bond, get to know each other better, understand one another, and somehow sense and constructively take into account both musicians’ ideas when putting arrangements together. That’s hugely important too, so a band can define its songs on the album even more effectively and, with that kind of power, or put differently – a new quality of expressive essence – win the listener over with a studio record even more easily.
The band sticks mostly to a mid-tempo groove on the album, which in Leave’s Eyes’ case creates the most drama and tragedy across the record, a factor the band wants working at its best from the start. And they pull it off, considering several elements I’ve already highlighted in the paragraphs above (the right balance between metal punch and symphonic variety, a charismatic soprano voice).
“Njord” is a mature, polished album, and so far the best-tuned record in the style that defines Leave’s Eyes. With it, after six years of existence and on their third try, they’ve caught up with the leading and best-quality bands in the gothic power metal genre. Within that genre “Njord” is certainly a piece of high expressive quality, which nevertheless still leaves some room for development and further upgrades in the future.
Line-up
Liv Kristine Espenæs Krull – vocals
Alexander Krull – vocals, keyboards, programming
Thorsten Bauer – guitar
Mathias Röderer – guitar
Alla Fedynitch – bass guitar
Seven Antonopoulos – drums, percussion
Production
Alexander Krull
Track list
1. Njord
2. My Destiny
3. Emerald Island
4. Take The Devil In Me
5. Scarborough Fair
6. Through Our Veins
7. Irish Rain
8. Northbound
9. Ragnarok
10. Morgenland
11. The Holy Bond
12. Froya’s Theme
